Let There Be Light: How to Light Up a Home During a Blackout

Let-There-Be-Light-How-to-Light-Up-a-Home-During-a-Blackout

(SurvivalDaily.com) – We take our power grid for granted, and one day it might not be there. Whether it be a failure of our system, an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack or a severe storm, we could lose power at any time. This is why it’s important to have the knowledge to light your home with off-grid solutions.

Outdoor Solar Lights

Solar power is the best way to get off-grid power. Unfortunately, some solar options are hard on the wallet and require professional installation. Outdoor solar lights, however, are relatively cheap and easy to use, no professionals needed. Just because they’re called “outdoor” solar lights doesn’t mean they can’t be a great light source indoors; after all, we use them to light our sidewalks and driveways, so why not our homes?

The downfall to these options is they’re cheap, meaning they can be unreliable or fail after repeated use. On the other hand, cheap isn’t always a bad thing: You can purchase a $3 light, and it might outlast a $30 Bluetooth-capable light. If you want an affordable solution to your potential lighting crisis, or just feel like sticking it to the man, outdoor solar lights are a great option.

Candles

This option has been used for millennia; ancient civilizations used them, our great-grandparents used them and now we use them. Talk about passing the torch through generations! Now, you can go to the store and buy those fancy $50-dollar candles, or you can go for the 50-cent varieties. They’ll both work about the same. You can even make your own using soy or beeswax; add in essential oils to give them a nice smell.

Candles can also be recycled; that is, if you have wicks readily available. You can pour the melted wax into a container for later use, or you can have a wick that you stand up in a cup or similar vessel. Pour the wax directly onto the container, keeping the wick upright — and boom, a new candle.

Natural Light

Use the power of the sun to light your home directly. Obviously, this largely depends on your location, but you have options for renovating your home that can bring in more natural light. Skylights are a great way to let in the sun and light your home from above. If you don’t like the idea of having windows in your ceiling, maybe go for adding in more windows around the house.

Natural light does you no good at night, so you’ll need to use a separate source when the sun isn’t out. This can make solar lights even more useful; using sunlight by day and solar power by night can be a great combo. Whether you want to be prepared for when an EMP strikes, a hurricane hits or maybe you just want to live off-grid, you have plenty of options.

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